Rachael Sewell, 21, from Belfast has been a volunteer with Mencap's Shout Out Self-Advocacy Group for the past four years. Shout Out is about young people having the right to shout out and develop their self-advocacy skills and take part in consultations, campaigns and workshops. Whilst doing these activities the group have fun, go to different places and meet new people all over NI.

Rachael said, "I heard about the Shout Out group from one of my friends at tech. I joined the group to get me out of the house, meet new people, find out what it was all about and because I'm not afraid to speak my own mind. I enjoy going places I've never been before, having a good laugh and a bit of craic and I've met a lot of good friends over the years that I have been there! I've learnt a lot from Shout Out, I don't even know where to start!"

Rachael is registered with the Millennium Volunteers Programme which promotes and recognises sustained volunteering among young people aged 16 to 24. Rachael has already received her certificate recognising 50 and 100 hours volunteering and is on her way to reaching her 200 Hour Nationally Recognised Award of Excellence.

Through her volunteering Rachael has taken part in many exciting activities! "I have been going to Stormont and meeting MLAs about what they need to do for people with a learning disability, how people with a learning disability should have the right to vote, the Bill of Rights for NI and things like bullying and keeping safe from people taking advantage of people with a learning disability".

One of the issues that the group has faced is getting turned away from nightclubs because of their learning disabilities. The group decided to have a nightclub for people from all over NI with learning disabilities to come for a night out.
"We designed the club night and made the decorations. We all did different jobs and really enjoyed ourselves!"

As part of the Shout Out group, Rachael has received training to enable her to train her peers. "I am trained to deliver training in how to keep yourself healthy. We had a 'Shout It Out' conference last October. I did the workshop on Health Awareness as I knew all about it".

Rachael really enjoys being a member of the Shout Out group. "This is a good thing to be into because you have the right to talk about issues, meet new friends and go out to have fun!"